What is a Structured Settlement Annuity?

A structured settlement is a financial vehicle including periodic payments, provided to the plaintiff during a personal injury tort claim in replacement for the lump sum settlement. This type of financial tool can only be setup by a licensed settlement planner. (Settlement Quotes does not create these insurance products.)

A structured settlement is setup by purchasing an annuity through a life insurance company such as Metlife or Monumental Life Insurance company. This annuity can payout monthly, semi-annually, annually, or for the lifetime of the claimant. These periodic payments are tax free and are a great source of fixed income for an individual after a personal injury tort case.

Many individuals ask whether they can receive a lump sum settlement after they start receiving their structured settlement annuity payments. The answer is no you cannot switch back to a lump sum settlement. You do have options though. Settlement Quotes provides services to individuals in this situation. We factor structured settlement annuities offering you a lump sum of cash for your structured settlement.

This is not always the best option for many people. A discounted rate will be applied to your structured settlement to figure out your present day value of your structured annuity to calculate your lump sum settlement. Due to the time value of money you will only receive a partial amount in your lump sum. After a court approval process your lump sum payment will still be tax free.

Settlement Quotes only recommends using this financial option if you have other financial assets that can provide financial support for your family. Many individuals pay off debt, send a child to college or put a down payment on a home with the money that they receive from the factored structured settlement.

There are many advantages to keeping your structured settlement. Settlement Quotes recommends seeking the advice of a financial professional before factoring any payments through a structured settlement factoring company. A structured settlement can be used as a source of income when trying to apply for a loan. This option should be tried first before attempting to receive a lump sum.

If you have no other options and would like to receive multiple quotes from top structured settlement funding companies please complete the short form above or call 888-665-1257.

3 Reasons Not to Sell a Structured Settlement

3 Reasons Not to Sell a Structured Settlement

First off, lets explain some good reasons to sell your structured settlement or annuity payments. There are turning points in peoples lives. which require a lump sum of cash. Maybe a son or daughter is going away to college or the opportunity to purchase a new home arises. These are just a couple of reasons which justifies selling a structured settlement.

Having a fixed income is very important in our everyday financial life. It allows us to be able to provide security for our family and live a respectable life that most of us dream about. The financial security of having a guaranteed amount of cash deposited in our bank account each month keeps us worry free about where the money is going to come from to pay our monthly expenses. This type of income creates less stress and creates the freedom to do the things we enjoy the most.

The question you should be asking is "Do I really need this money now?" This question is the basis for our first reason of why you shouldn't sell a structured settlement. What is the true reason you are selling the annuity payments? This answer must be a valid reason because the judge must determine that your reasoning for the sale of the structured settlement is a good one. A judge will not transfer the payments to the financial institution if he does not see a valid reason or does not agree with your viewpoint about your financial future. Buying a brand new BMW is not a good reason to cash in your fixed income, maybe you could settle for a Ford.

The second reason not to sell a structured settlement is if the periodic payments are too far in the future. The problem with this situation is that the value of money today will not be the same as it will be ten years from now. If you are receiving payments that start five to ten years and beyond, it wont make any sense to try and cash them out because they will be worth pennies on a dollar in ten years. A case such as this causes many other difficulties as well. A case of this nature would have a discount rate up above 50% and would not get approved in court even if it made it that far.

The third reason not to sell a structured settlement is if there are other viable sources of cash that are available to you. Once again fixed income is very important to an individuals financial portfolio. Removing this option only hurts the portfolio. There are numerous ways of receiving a lump sum of cash. A bank loan backed by your fixed income is one alternative or accessing the equity in your home would be another. These are just a couple of ways to receive the extra cash that you may be looking for.

How to Sell a Structured Settlement

How do I sell a structured settlement? This is the question many of our clients ask us here at Settlement Quotes. The process is quite simple for our clients. We have created a system that allows anyone trying to sell a structured settlement a free service that takes out all of the complications involved in selling a structured settlement annuity.

Our main goal was to make our system as self explanatory as possible. Our system can be broken down into 3 easy steps.

1) Go to the form at the top of the page and fill in your name, phone number and email address.

2) Enter your payment stream information which would be the payments you would like to sell, including the lump sum payments, if applicable.

3) Wait by your phone, and an operator will call you within 2 hours with your quote.

This process was created with our clients and the public in mind. This service will beat any legitimate quote offered by any other company. You will receive all of your quotes within 24- 48 hours and have paperwork in your hands within 72 hours.

The entire factoring process takes between 4- 8 weeks to complete. Once you have provided the funding company with the correct paperwork their job begins. They will begin their underwriting process, which includes acquiring a court date from the state your case was originally settled in.

The term "sell structured settlement payments" is incorrect because the payments are not technically being sold, they are being transferred from one party to the other. That is what the factoring process is based off of. To the insurance company who provides these structured settlement annuities there is no change to the date or payment amount of each payment. The only change is the name that is on the check.

At the court hearing a judge will review the case to make sure that transferring some or all of your structured settlement payments is in your best interest. Once the judge approves your case you will receive a check within 24 hours.

If you would like to start the process of transferring your structured settlements you can create an account, fill out the short form above, or call 888-665-1257 to receive an immediate quote.